Tool for twisting wire ties



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. B. FOULDER TooL FOR TwIsTING WIRE TIES Filed ot. 22. 1922- la N NN l l 1 .LIIIPHHIH s :'I l l km/ A [f1 i duw' Sept. 20,

ATTORNEY @V Nfl ITI A g 1 l Sept Z0 927 H.l B. FOULDER TOOL FOR TWISTIG WIRE TIES 5 Sheets-Shee INVENTOR Filed Oct. 22, 1923 ATTORN E Y Sept. Z0 1927.

1,642,849 H. B. FOULDER TOOL FORTWISTING WIRE TIES Filed Oct. 22, 1923 4 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 E Q 90 :y y Z9 INVENTOR 37 5B 56 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 20, 1927.

HENRY B. BOULDER,

CO., INC., F STAMFORD, CONNECTI OF GLENBROOK, CONNECTICUT, .ASSIGNOR T0 JIP. CURRY MFG.

CUT, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

yTOOL FOR TWISTINGWIRE TIES.

Application filed October 22, 1923. Serial No. 669,900.

This invention relates to tools for twistand more particularly relates i pted to such ing wire ties, to a semi-automatic tool ada purpose.

Bench tools tore known tall into two classes, one class including tools which are entirely automatic in their operation, including mechanism for automatically iteeding'wire ties and bags to 1H the tying mechanism and mechanism for discharging 'the tied bags from the apparatus. This class ot toolsis usually power driven. The'otlier class ol' tools referred to are not power driven, and the twisting` of the tie l1'` is etlected by the operator pulling the twistin head outwardly while the tie is engaged therein. The ou considerable, physical eltort necessaryr for this operation. It is the principal aim of my invention to produce a bench tool for twisting wire ties, wherein the twisting of the tie is accomplished by mechanical power, but is adapted to have the wire tie connected with the t ool nnuiually, and adapted to have the twisting operation started by a simple and easy operation on the part ot the operator, and also adapted to cease twisting movement after a predetermined number of turns has been given to the tie, and to release the tie after it has been given the desired number of twists. Another object of my invention is to provide a tool of the character described, con'iprising a power driven actuator and a tie twisting head adapted to be rotated by the actuator and provided with means whereby after the operator has inserted a tie in the twistiinqr head a slight pull thereon will connect the twisting head to the actu- Y ato-r tor rotation thereby; and another object oit this invention is to provide mechanism in such a tool whereby after twisting of the tie has been started in the above manner'the tie will be released automatically into the hands ot the operator after it has been given a predetermined number of twists; and a iii mechanism iu such a tool whereby, after a tie has been so released, the twisting head is stopped tion and condition .tor the reception of a new tie and tor a repetition of the above cycles ot operation. A further object of my invention is to provide a tie twisting device i'or twisting wire ties hereto-` tward movement required is is also the amount ofl ser object ot this invention is to provide and is placed in appropriate posiadapted tor use with machines of the above character and adapted to operate upon wire ties of the stub-nosed type. Another object of my invention to to provide a tie twisting device adaptedy foi-.use with machines of the above character and adapted `for use with wire ties having looped ends. Other objects of this invention will be in part obvious and in part pointedout hereinafter.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations ot elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplilied in the construct-ion hereinatter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a rotatable tie twisting device adjustable linto and adjustable out of tie-holding condition, and a main, power-driven actuator for rotating said device and Jfor adjusting said device into and out ortie-holding condition. I associate therewith a clutch which is adjustable to establish an actuating connection between said actuator and said tie twisting device to etliect rotation of said device and to cause a tie held thereby to be twisted. I also provide mechanism adaptedr to be operated by said actuator when the clutch is thrown in, which mechanism is adapted to maintain the clutch adjusted so as to maintain the actuating connection between the actuator and the tie twisting device until the device has been rotatedto a predetermined extent, and then to adjust said clutch to sever said actuating connection, said mechanism being adapted to adjust the tie twisting device out `oi' tie holding condition after the tie has been twisted to a predetermined extent, and also adapted to subsequently adjust the tie-liolding device again into tie-holding condition. An suitable means ior throwing in the clutc may be provided. A toot pedal or handle operated mechanism is satisfactory. However, I preferably construct the tool so that a slight outward pull upon the tiel twisting device will throw in the clutch and start the twisting operation, which, `as vabove mentioned, will automatically continue `for a stated period and then `will cease, the tie meanwhile being automatically disengaged from the tie twisting device. For use with stub-nosed wire ties, the tie twisting device preferably comprises two relatively movable jaws which are locked together to hold a tie and are released to free the tie by a movable shaft cooperating therewith. For loopended wire ties the tie twisting device may comprise a stud or finger upon which the looped ends are adapted to be hooked, which finger is adapted to be mechanically withdrawn from engagement with these loops, thus adjusting the tie twisting device out of tie retaining condition.`

In order that a clearer understanding of my invention may be had, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and illustrating certain possible embodiments of my invention. Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1

is a side elevation of a tool embodying my invention, certain parts being broken away and projected in reduced scale; Fig. 2 is a top plan viewv of the tool; Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1 showing in full lines the tie twisting device in tie retaining condition, and showing in dot and dash lines the tie twisting device out of tie retaining` condition; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the tool and is taken on the line 4 4 of Fig-.1; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the tool and is taken on the line 5 5 of 1; Fig. 6 is enlarged fragmentary view in vert-ical section of a portion of the tietwisting device illustrated in the foregoing figures; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in vertical section of a portion of a tie twisting device adapted for use with wire ties having looped ends and in place of the type of tie twisting device illustrated in the foregoing figures; and Fig. 8 is a side view of a fragment of the tool showing slight modifications therein to accommodate the tool for use with a head of the form shown in Fig. 7. Similar reference characters designate similar parts through the several views of the drawings.

ReferringV to the drawings, the tool comprises suitable supports or standards, such as 1 and 2, which are adapted to be secured to a work bench 8 or the like, as by means of bolts 4. Supported by standards 1 and 2 is a rotatable horizontal shaft 5. At a suitable place on this shaft, as toward its rear end, is an idle gear or pulley 6, which is adapted to be driven constantly `from any suitable source of power (not shown), as by means of belt 7. On shaft 5 adjacent the rear side of pulley 6, I secure a friction clutch disc 9, as by ,means of pin 8. On shaft 5 adjacent the opposite side of pulley 6 I mount another friction clutch disc 9, which disc 9 has a hub 1() which surrounds the shaft 5 and is journaled for rotation in standard 1. Friction discs 9 and 9 constitute a clutch mechanism, disc 9 being adapted to move against pulley -6 to bind this pulley between discs 9 and 9 and thus establish a driving connection between pulley 6 and shaft 5, and disc 9 being adapted to'be moved away from pulley 6, thus severing said driving connection and permitting pulley 6 to rotate idly about shaft 5.

Shaft 5 is journaled for rotation in standard 2. The forward portion of shaft 5 is tubular and surrounds another tube or sleeve 11, which is secured to shaftV 5 for rotation therewith by means of a pin 12 which penetrates perforations in tube 11 and slots 12 in shaft 5. This pin 12 also engages in perforations in the hub 40 of an annular plate or disc 41 which surrounds the shaft 5. Thus disc 41 and tube 11 are movable together forwardly and rearwardly with respect to shaft 5 within the limits .permitted by slots 12. Tube 11 has a threaded end 11 extending outwardly beyond the forward end of sleeve 5, and upon this threaded end of tube 11 is secured for rotation therewith a tie twisting device 18 which has a rearwardly opening sleeve portion 14 having interior threads in engagement with the threads 11 of sleeve 11. A lock nut 15 may also be provided to securely lock the device 14 to the sleeve 11. At the forward end of the tie twisting device are two complementary jaws 16 and 17, pivoted to the device on pins 18 and 19, so that the forward ends of the jaw members may be brought together into tie-holding position, and may be moved apart to place them out of tie-holding condition. The forward ends of these jaws are so shaped that when they are closed together they will present a groove or slot 20 in which the wire tie may be held captive adjacent its ends, said slot being narrower than the upset ends of the tie and said jaws closing the slot at the bottom, as at 21, so as to prevent a tie from sliding downwardly out of slot 20. The placing of the tie holding jaws into and out of tie holding condition is governed automatically during the operation of the machine. To this end the jaw members 16 and 17 have heels 22 and 28 extending rearwardly from the pins 18 and 19. Heel portions 22 and 28 are provided with cam surfaces 24 and 25l which are adapted to be engaged by a tapered end 26 of a Vshaft 27 which extends rearwardly into the hollow of tube 11. Adjacent its rear end shaft 27 is secured to the hub 28 of annular plate 29, which surrounds shaft 5, shaft 27 and hub 28 being secured together by means of pin 80 which penetrates aligned perforations in shaft 27 and hub 28, and which pin extends through suitable slots 81 in the shaft 5 and through suitable slots 82 in the tube 11, thus permitting forward and rearward movement of the shaft 27 by means of moving annular plate 29 forward or rearwardly along shaft 5.

Ihe forward end of the hub 10 of friction disc 9 carries a radially extending lug- 88. Pressing rearwardly against this end of hub 10 is a spring 34 which is compressed between said end and the rear surface of a gear which is secured to shaft 5, as by means of pin 36. Gear 35 is in constant mesh with a larger gear 37 which is secured to a -shaft 33, which is rotatably yjournaled in erably beveled, as at 47, which end is adapted to be disposed by cam .surface 42 into and out of the path of lug 33 of the hub 10 of friction clutch ymember 9. The cam surface 42 is circular for a major portion of its extent, but has a depressed portion 48. Thus during a major extent of rotation of cam surface 42 the end 47 of lever arm 44 is held out of the path of movement of lug 33, and only becomes disposed in the path of movement of lug 33 when the lever-arm lug 43 sinks into the depressed portion 43 of the cam surface 42. A coil spring 49 secured to lever arm 44k and to a bracket 50 carried on the bench 3 ccnstantly pulls leverV arm lug 43 against the periphery of cam surface 42.

A leverf51`is pivoted'intermediate its ends, as at 52, upon a bracket 53 secured to standard 2, as by means of screws 54. The upper end 55 of this lever engages the forward surface of the annular plate 29, and the lower end 56 of this lever is in the path of a cam lug 57, which rotates with gear 37 about shaft 38.- This lug 57 may be provided on a hub port-ion 58 of gear 37. When lug 57 engages end 56 of lever 51, it'causes rearward movement of itsvupper end 57 and of dii-,e 29. When lug 57 does not engage lever disc 29 is placed in forward position by a coil spring 59, compressed between discs 29 and 41. The time of contact between lug 57 and lever end 56 is comparatively brief, and this contact is synchronized so as to be made and broken just before lug 33 engages the end 47 of lever arm 44. When disc 29 is moved rearwardly, the tie holding jaws are opened and a tie held thereby is released. When lug 33 becomes cammed forwardly by reason of its riding upon the tapered end 47 of lever arm 44, the clutch, comprising .discs 9 and 9 is thrown out, and the rotation of shaft 5 and of the tie twisting device ceases. Thev gearing ratio between gears 35 and 37 may suitably be three to one, so that the tie twisting device will rotate three complete revolutions for every revolution of gear 37.

The operation of the device is as follows A wire tie 60 is placed about a bag or other article to be tied, and the ends of the tie are placed in the groove 2O of the jaws of the tie twisting device with the stub ends 61 of the tie held captive by the jaws. The operator pulls outwardly upon the tie 60 in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 6. Tube 11V and annular plate 41 follow this movement. Discv 41 is in contact with one end 62l of a bell crank lever which is pivoted, as at 63, to a bracket 64 secured to standard 2.Y The other arm 65 of this bell crank lever is connected by means of pivoted link 66 to the lever arm 44. Thus, this forward movement of annular disc 41, effected by the operator, will move lever arm 44 out of engagement with lug 33, and will result in the clutch being thrown in by the action of spring 34, thus establishing an actuating connection between the constantly rotating pulle 6 and the shaft 5. Shaft 5 will accordingly start rotating, and since lug 43 is now in engagement with the raised portion of cam surface 42, this rotation of shaft 5 will be continued until gear 37 has made one completed r-evolution, for instance, until shaft 5 has made three complete revolutions. At this time lug 43 of lever 44 will again enter the depression in cam surface 42, disposing lever 44 in the path of lug 23, so that when lug 33 rides upon the tapered end 47 of lever 44, friction disc 9 will be eammed outwardly against the action of spring 34 and the clutch will be thrown out and the rotation of shaft 5 will cease. Meanwhile, just before shaft 5 has completed 'its final revolution, cam lug 57, which also rotates with gear 37, has come into contact with lever 51,.and has then moved out of contact therewith. This coaction between cam lug 57 and lever 51 has caused shaft 27 to be drawn rearwardly of tie twisting jaws 16 and 17 for a sufficient length of time to permit the tie, which has been previously twisted by the rotation of shaft 5, to be released from the tie twisting device. Since the engagement between cam lug 57 and lever 51 is broken at or before the time shaft 5 ceases to rotate, the tie twisting` jaws 16 and 17 will be restored to original tie holding condition, thus permitting a repetition of the above operations to effect the twisting of another tie inserted into the device by the operator.

Instead of starting the machine by means of pulling outwardly on the tie twisting head or upon a tie held therein, the clutch may be thrown in by depressing a foot pedal, such as 70, which is connected by a link 71 to a lever 72, which is integral with or connected to lever arm 44, constituting therewith, in effect, a. bell crank lever. The subsequent automatic operation of the machine is the same as heretofore described, except continued rotation of shaft 5 may be had by maintaining the foot lever in depressed position. y

To adapt the machine for use with Wire ltl ties, such as 7 3, which have looped Vends 74 instead of stub-nosed ends, such as 61, of ties 60, the tie twisting device may be modified inr a slight respect. Such tie twisting device may comprise a fiat forward projection and a member 76 which is pivoted to the device bypin 7 7. The forward end of member 76 has a finger 78 upon which the looped ends 74 of a wire tie 73 may be hooked and held to effect the twisting ofthe tie as the device rotates. Hook 78 extends upwardly through a perforation 79 in the plate 75, and is adapted to be drawn downwardly through this perforation, so as to be withdrawn from` engagement within the loops 74 of the tie 73 and thus effect the positive release of the tie. Thel rear portion of member 7G is provided with two projections 80and 8l, providing a recess 82 between them. The forward end ofshaft 27 is provided with a recess 88 adapted to receive projection 81 and with a projection 84 adapted to seat within recess 82. The forward end surface 85 of shaft 27 is adapt-- ed to engage projection 80. The portion of a tool equipped with a. tie twisting device of this type is the same as the operation kof the tool when equipped with the tie twisting device heretofore described for use. with stub end ties, except that the forward and rear movement of shaft 27 is reversed. Vhen shaft 27 is in its rearward position, the hook 78 is positioned for engagement with a tie. l/Vhen shaft 27 is positioned forwardly, hook 78 is placed out of tie holding position.

The tool may be modified to effect this reverse movement of shaft 27 into and out of tie holding condition, as shown in Fig. 8. This may be accomplished by changing cam hub 58, so that instead of having a cam projection 57, it has a cam recess or depression 88. Instead of lever 51 bearing rearwardly against annular disc 29, it bears forwardly against a similar disc 87, which is pressed rearwardly by a spring 88 compressed between the forward surface of disc 87 and the rear surface of a collar 89, which is secured to shaft 5 by means of said screw 90. This collar also serves to hold shaft 5 against forward movement with respect to standards 1 and 2. In place of disc 29 a disc. 91 may be provided on shaft 5 to engage spring 59. A spring 92 may be secured to lever 51, as at 93, and to standard 2, as at 94, to effect forward movement of annular plate 87 and shaft 27 when the lower end of lever 51 is opposite cam recess 86 of hub G8. The pull of spring 92 is stronger than the push of spring 88. The pin 30 engages the hub 95 of annular disc 87.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all Inatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative-end not in a limiting sense. Y

What I claim is 1. In an apparatus of the character described, a rotatable head adapted to hold a wire tie for twisting, actuating means for rotating said head to twist a tie held thereby, clutch mechanism, means operable from said head for throwing in said clutch mechanism to cause rotation of said head by said actuating means, means for automatically throwing out said clutch mechanism when said head has rotated a certain extent to stop rotation of said head by said actuating means, and automatically actuated means adapted to release a tie from said head after lsaid tie has been twisted by the rotation of said head.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a rotatable head adapted to hold a wire tie for twisting, actuating means for rotating said head to twist a tie held there-y by, clutch mechanism, means operable from said head for throwing -in said clutch mechanism to cause. rotation of said head by said actuating means, means for automatically throwing out said clutch mechanism when said head has rotated a certain extent to stop rotation of said head by said actuating means, and automatically actuated means adapted to release a tie from said head after said tie has been twisted by the rotation of said head and before rotation of said head by said actuator ceases.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable spindle having a head adjustable to receive and hold a tie lfor twisting and adjustable to discharge the tie, means normally maintaining the head adjusted to receive and hold a tie, means for rotating said spindle to twist a tie held by the head and for then adjusting the head momentarily to discharge the tie, and clutch mechanism for establishing an actuating engagement between said spindle rotating and head adjusting means and the spindle and head.

4. In an apparatus of -the character described, in combination, a rotatable tie twisting device adjustable to receive and hold a tie for twisting and adjustable to discharge the tie, means normally maintaining said device adjusted to receive and hold a tie, a main actuator, and clutch mechanism for establishing actuating connections between said actuator and said 'tie twisting device to cause said actuator to rotate said device to twist a tie held thereby and then to adjust said device to discharge the twisting tie.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable tie twisting device adjustable to receive andV hold a tie for twisting and adjustable to discharge the tie, means normally maintaining said device adjusted to receive and hold a tie, a main actuator, clutch mechanism for establishing actuating connections between said actuator and saidtie twisting device to cause said actuator to rotate said device to twist a tie held thereby7 and then to adjustsaid device to discharge the twisting tie, and mechanism operated by said actuator' and adapted automatically to maintain said clutch adjusted to maintain said actuating connections until said device has rotated a predetermined extent, and until said device has been adjusted to discharge a tie, and then to restore it to tie receiving and holding adjustment, and adapte-d automatically then to adjust the clutch to sever said actuating connections.

6. In an apparatus of the character deL scribed` in combination, a rotatable tietwisting device adjustable into and adjustable out of tie-holding condition, mechanism associated with said device and operable to adjust said device into and out of tie-holding condition, actuating means for rotating said device and for actuating said mechanism to adjust said device into and out of tie-holding condition, and a clutch adjustable to establish and adjustable to sever an actuatingconnection between said actuating means, said tie-twisting device and said device-adjusting mechanism, means for adjusting said clutch to establish an actuating connection between said Vactuator and said device-adjusting mechanism, means operated by said actuator 'for automatically severing said actuating connection, said means being automatically operated when said twistingl device has rotated a predetermined extent and after said device-adjusting mechanism has been actuated to adjust said twisting device out of tie-holding condition', and means adjusting said tie-twisting device so that said device is in tie-holding condition when said rotation of said device from said actuator ceases.

This specification signed this 19 day of October, 1923.

HENRY B. FOULDER. 

